BROOMFIELD — Holy Family’s boys basketball team has embraced the “family” part of its name.

Adopting a team-first mentality, the Tigers (18-1, 7-1 3A/2A Metropolitan league) have been good this season. Really good. Ranked No. 2 in the Class 3A Colorado AP media poll, they’re outscoring opponents by an average of nearly 28 points while distributing the ball across a nine-deep rotation. Their leading scorer, junior Luke Golter, is averaging only 12.3 points a game.

“We just got a bunch of unselfish kids and unselfish coaches,” said senior guard David Sommers. “No one really cares who puts it in the hole; it’s just that we come out on top as a team in the end.”

After working as a junior varsity coach at Broomfield, Pete Villecco arrived at Holy Family in 2010 and has transformed a program that sat in a purgatory of mediocrity into one of the powerhouses of 3A.

“From Day One, I said … we’re about team,” Villecco said. “We feel like a team of five guys on the court playing together is tough to beat.”

The coaching staff has put an emphasis on the basics: good fundamentals and solid defense. As a result, the Tigers have the most stifling defense in Class 3A, allowing opponents to average only 38.7 points this season.

“We talk a lot about ‘controllables’ and what we can control. We feel like there’s a little bit more control on that end than on the offensive end,” Villecco said. “We want to be a little nasty — when you step in those lines, it’s going to be hard to score on us.”

Villecco credits his players buying into the system for their success on the court.

“We’ve taken really good kids who are good athletes and they’ve worked their tail off in the gym. That’s pretty much it,” Villecco said.

Holy Family fell in the quarterfinals of the state tournament last year, a 66-37 loss to Eaton. After making it to the semifinals the year before, it left a bad taste in the team’s mouth.

“It’s been a little fire that supports us,” Sommers said. “Come into practice every day with that in the back of your mind.”

But making another deep run in the playoffs isn’t the biggest priority for the team. It’s about improving with every game.

“No matter who the opponent, we try to come with the same edge every game,” Golter said.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Tyreek Hill didn’t know what to do when he started hearing thousands of people in Arrowhead Stadium chanting his name, even as he stood all alone on the frozen turf waiting for the punt.